Electrical connecter



July 27, 1937. w.fA. HEINRICH ELECTRICAL conn-Emmay Filed Sept. 28, 1933 Y INVENTOR. WHLTE/P A? /E/NR/CH y ATTORNEY.

Patented. July 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE' vJames R; Kearney Corporation, St; a corporation of Missouri Louis, Mo.,

t Application september 2s, 1933, sei-a1 No. 691,266

a (ci. 17a-263)" My invention relates to electrical connecters and more particularly to an improved connecter of yso-called split bolt and nut type. This type of connecter consists, essentially, in a bolt having a, 5 longitudinally 'slotted shank portion, through which extend the conductors or other members to be connected, and a-nut threaded on the outer end of the shank portion for clamping the members together. In an advanced design, the deo vice is provided with a spacer element, which is disposed between, and prevents collapse of the shank furcations when the nut is drawn up tightly on the bolt. Owing to theirv simplicity, `economy of manufacture, and facility of applica- 5 tion', these devices have come into widespread use .fon 'installations requiring a sturdy yet inexpensive ,connection between a pair or more'of conductrs. Y

While split bolt connecters of current design o are -generally satisfactory for their intended pur- A pose, they have an inherent weakness which is manifested by a twisting, distorting, or warping of the shank furcations when' forces of suflicient magnitude to produce an extremely tight con- 5 nection between the conductors are employed in turning up the nut on the bolt shank. The reason for this undesirable condition -will appear from the following. In applying split bolt connecters of heretofore prevailing design, it is customary ;0 to utilize a pair of wrenches, one applied to the bolt head to preclude turningV of the bolt, hence klnking or bending ,of the conductors.` as the second wrench is applied to the clamping nut. Of course tlbolt shank is not subjectedto any sub- ;5 s tantial tortional stress while the nut is free to turn. However,when the nut is' up and clampingaction; occurs, the turning forces on the nut aredmparted to the bolt. Since there is Y a substantial distance between the points of apf i0 plication of thturning couples,'the. sliankfpor-A tions of the bolt, to which' the turning ortwisting forces are imparted. Yare readily susceptible of'being warped or distorted. YSuch distortionf the bolt shank results in the conductors being L5 o ut of parallelism, with the attendantrreduction of contact surface therebe't een,Y the stripping of the bolt or nut threads, and permanent impairment of .the connecter for subse- V quentuse on-other installations. A A i0` An object of my invention is to provide an improved vconnecter of Split bolt type which 'is capable of withstanding,v without damage thereto, extremely large forces utilized in applying the device, and hence which is adapted to. clamp coni'sductor's with much 'greater pressure than can lcorresponding devices of prevailing construction and commensurate size'.

The aforementioned object is attained by the provision of a washer element, disposed between the clamping nut and its adjacent conductor.' 5

constructions.' Obviously, since the oppositely di-f 15 u rected clamping forces are applied respectively to the nut'and washer element, which parts are dis.-

u posed l in vrelative ,adjacenea such Vforces maybe of very' great magnitude without causing disftortion'of the shank furcations. By reason of the 20 aforementioned construction, the bolt shank'is practically relieved of all tortional strain: t Other objects and advantages of the presentl invention will appear from the following detailed description and accompanying drawing, in which: 25

Fig. l is a1 side elevation showing a. presently preferred embodiment of my invention as apl plied toa pair of electrical conductors; 'Fig. 2 illustrates the assembly of Flg..1 as viewed in 'a direction longitudinally of the conductors: Fla-346' is a sectional view of the assembly taken at a plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5, respectively, are top and bottom plan views of the assembly illustrated in Flg. 1, and Figs. 6 and' '7, respectively, aretop plan, and perspective 435 views of a presently preferred form of washer or spacer element employed in the dvice of my invention. 'l

Proceeding now with `a detailed description of my invention .as embodied in the device illus-'40 trated, and lreferring to thedrawing by characters of reference, numeral Il denotes the head portion of a longitudinally, slotted, or blfurcated.

bolt. As distinguished from. the polygonal head portions of the common variety of'bolts, the por- 45 tion Il is preferably formed with well rounded edges as indicated at li. and is substantially free of anyv ilat side surfaces. Thisonstniction has been adopted primarilyfor the purpose of dis- .v

couraging the user from applying a wrench to 5o the bolt head instead of thewas'her element to be 4hereinafter described.v The boltf slot terminates in afpreferably V-shaped wire-receiving groove l2, shown as extending transversely of the insidesurface of the head portlonfll and con- 'o5 tinuing along the under surfaces of lugs I3 which project laterally from opposite sides of the bolthead.

As best appears from Fig. 1, the bolt or body member is adapted to be positioned in straddling relation to the members to be clamped together, such members being exemplied by the wires A. Threaded on the shank portions or furcations I4 is a nut I5 upon which is seated a' washer element I6. The element I6 is of substantial thickness, or depth, and` is preferably provided with flat outer surfaces, in the manner of a common nut, to enable the element to be firmly gripped by a wrench or otherY tool. Extending diametrally across the element I6 at its lower or outer end is a bridge portion, or rib II of width approximating the width of the bolt slot through which it extends. Formed in the upper surface of the rib I1 is a longitudinal wire-receiving groove I8. A downward or outward continuation of the rib I'I forms a plug-like projection I9 which extends into and substantially lls that portion of the bolt slot which is encpmpassed by the nut. There is a normal tendency of the shank furcations I4 to collapse or bend inwardly when the nut is drawn up tightly thereon and such result is prevented by the portion I9 which serves as a spacer to maintain the furcations in their normal positions.

For purposes of minimizing the number of separable connecter parts, the nut and washer elements are preferably maintained in permanently assembled relation by the provision, on the plug or spacer portion I9, of laterally projecting ears 20 which underlie the outer face of the nut and prevent detachment ofl that member from the washer element I6.

The upper or inner end of the washer is diametrally kerfed to the depth of the wire seat I8, forming lateral slots or openings 2I which are located in registration with the bolt slot, and

such openings, with the bolt slot, provide an .sive to threading or' unthreading of the nut on the bolt, but is held against rotation relative thereto. It will further appear that the bolt head I is adapted to be drawn into the washer, the lugs I3 being received by the slots 2|, when such becomes necessary to clamp wires of relatively smaller diameter than those illustrated.

From the foregoing description it may be seen that I provide a connecter 'that can be tightened to a considerably greater degree than prevailing types for the reason that the upper portion of the bolt is not subject to tortional stresses, as the nut. is being drawn up on the bolt furcations.

Since the construction herein set forth is capable of a certain range of change and modication without materially departing from the spirit of the invention, I do not limit myself to the specific structure shown and described except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A connecter comprising a bolt having a slot formed longitudinally thereof which extends froma bridge portion adjacent to one end of the bolt to the opposite. end of .the bolt where said slot is open, a nut mounted on said bolt, and a substantially cylindrical sleeve mounted on the bolt in contact with said nut and having a plurality of external, angularly disposed tool-receiving faces which encompass the sleeve, said sleeve having a diametral bridge portion at one end which is extended through the bolt slot, and being provided with diametrally opposed slots 10- cated in the plane yof the bolt slot which extend from the bridge portion of the sleeve to the opposite end thereof where said slots are open, the tool-receiving faces of said sleeve being spaced apart from the nut longitudinally of the bolt so as to permit of convenient application of separate tools to the sleeve and the nut.

2. A connecter comprising a bolt having a slot formed longitudinally thereof which extends from a bridge portion adjacent to one end of the bolt t-o the opposite end of the bolt where said slot is open, a nut mounted on said bolt, and a substantially cylindrical lsleeve mounted on the bolt in contact with said nut and having external tool-receiving faces, said sleeve having a'diametral bridge portion at one end which is extended through the bolt slot, and being provided with diametrally opposed slots located in the plane of the. bolt slot which extend from the bridge -portion of the sleeve to the opposite end thereof where said' slots are open, said bolt being4 of such shape and size at the bridge end thereof that said bolt end may pass entirely into the' interior of the sleeve when the diameters of elements being connected require such movement.

3. A connecter comprising a bolt having a slot formed longitudinally thereof which extends from a bridge portion adjacent to one end of the bolt to the opposite end of the bolt where said slot is open, a nut mounted on said bolt, and a substantially cylindrical sleeve mounted on the bolt in contact with said nut and having external tool-receiving faces, said sleeve having a diametral bridge portion at one end which is extended through the bolt slot, and being provided with diametrally opposed slots located in the plane of the bolt slot which extend from the bridge portion of the sleeve to theopposite end thereof where said slots are open, said bolt being of such shape and size at the bridge end thereof that saidbolt end may pass entirely into the interior of the sleeve when thediameters of elements being connected require such movement, and said bolt end being provided with ex-,

tended portions which, on movement of the bridge end of the bolt into the interior of the sleeve, move into the slots of the sleeve.

WALTER A. HEINRICH. 

